Possession Expressed With a Dative

Level 2

Ruke su mi hladne means my hands are cold. The dative mi identifies the affected person while ruke remains the subject.

How It Works

In Majka mi je bolesna., majka is the subject and mi links her to the speaker. In Ruke su joj hladne., ruke is plural, so the verb is su; joj does not control agreement.

The dative can express both a personal connection and involvement in the situation. A possessive phrase such as moje ruke is another construction, with its own emphasis and context.

Learn pain expressions separately. Boli me glava. uses accusative me, and the head is the grammatical subject. Bole me ruke. has a plural verb because ruke is plural. The similar English meanings do not make mi and me interchangeable.

Examples (4)

  1. Ruke su mi hladne.

    My hands are cold.

    Mi identifies the person; plural ruke controls su.

  2. Majka mi je bolesna.

    My mother is ill.

    The dative marks a close personal relationship.

  3. Boli me glava.

    My head hurts.

    This verb takes accusative me.

  4. Bole me ruke.

    My arms hurt.

    Plural ruke controls bole; me is still accusative.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Possession Expressed With a DativeLevel 2

Learn This First

A dative clitic can identify a possessor, extending the already learned short dative forms.

Words in This Pattern

mujojvamim